The present invention relates generally to improved electronic field replacement units. More particularly, it relates to method and apparatus for managing the aligning and coupling of interposers for use in field replacement units.
In general, field replacement units are used for facilitating handling of devices in manufacturing, transportation, distribution, as well as for installation in both manufacturing and repair environments. The trend in electronic packaging is to use interposer assemblies for interconnecting integrated circuit packages with boards because they provide high density and high reliability connections. For instance in the computer industry, field replacement units are used for containing land-grid array (LGA's) interposers for use in combination with multi-chip modules (MCM's). LGA's permit direct electrical connection between a module surface and a printed circuit board through a conductive interposer. Connection is achieved by aligning the contact areas of the two mating surfaces and compressing the interposer in between. Various interposer technologies exist. Some include compressible contacts from conductive springs to conductive elastomers. The interposer contacts interface directly with contact lands on the modules and the circuit boards in a removable and re-installable format. One widely used contact technology is the fuzz button type which consists of a plurality of individual coiled wires, each of which resides in a corresponding passage of the interposer body, whereby each extends above and below such passages.
It is important that damage to these interposer contacts should be greatly minimized or eliminated since occurrence of such damage may lead to inabilities to establish the desired electrical connections for effective operation, and overall load balancing problems for the interposer. Therefore, care must be exercised in insuring that the individual interposer contacts do not become damaged and/or displaced because of misalignment from their intended positions. Previous efforts at preventing undue movement of the individual contacts or misalignment of the interposers led to preloading them against a surface to prevent interposer movement. However, such preloading may have a tendency, on rare occasions, to permanently deflect or displace a significant number of contacts from their desired positions. Also, proper alignment was not afforded, thereby resulting in load balancing problems. As a result, a number of problems such as failure to establish the desired electrical connections and improper load balancing may be introduced with known approaches.
Accordingly, there are needs for methods and apparatus for managing aligning and coupling of first and second circuit devices through interposers; particularly, in field replacement units for use in electronic modules so as to enhance load balancing and minimize damage to interposer contacts.
Without methods and apparatus meeting such needs, the true potential of effectively managing the aligning and coupling of interposers relative to first and second circuit devices, particularly in combination with field replacement units, may be less than entirely satisfactory.